November 25, 2009

"Invaders from Earth"
"Conspiracy"
"War of the Planets"
"Dregs of Defeat"

Long separated from their homeworld, the Mantech warriors are shocked to discover that humans, now using interplanetary gateways instead of starships, have made their way to the planet of Mekka. Though Solartech and Lasertech don't want to head back home until the threat of Tyranik has been resolved, Aquatech, long dissatisfied with his cybernetic form, is lured from the others by the promise of returning to a cloned body of flesh.

But, alas, things have changed on Earth. Pollution has made concentrated oxygen a rarity and the Orion Corporation, a ruling body these men represent, start setting up a factory to syphon Mekka's rich air supply back to our dying world. And Aquatech? His mechanized body will be dissected by the research department.

I was really blown away by this issue. The story is still cheesy, with all its blurted one-liners fully exclamated, and the art still childish, with figures hitting their wobbliest and eyes pointed in different directions, but it was a damn gripping read. The corporate plunder of a world, the shock that our heroes get at learning what their home has become, and the huge climactic battle with actual fatalities was something I didn't expect from a "Comics Code Approved" Archie title, and it got even better as the heroic Mantech had no other option but to team up with Tyranik and his hideous Terrotechs in order to face down a shared threat before the suffocation of their entire planet.

Sadly, this marks the last issue of the series. Clunky as it is, I was impressed by the thought and creativity Margopoulos slipped into his scripts, even as the art came back rushed and lacking conviction. There's promise of an issue 5 on the letters page, but it never came to be.

For more information about this issue, check out its page at The Comic Book Database. Though out of print, copies aren't very difficult to find at various online comic retailers.

Instead of a collection of smaller stories, the creative team structures their chapters into a big epic war piece that, while it never quite lives up to the potential it establishes, is still quite rousing.

Back in the days of war between man and machine, Technoliath had entire divisions of robotic warriors hidden away, just waiting to be activated by a master that's now gone. Having uncovered a bunker of one such division, the forces of Tyranik flip the switch and step aside as the soldiers move to the first target on their ancient list: the capital Enclave City.

It's all epic and grand, especially as the forces move in under cloak screens, keeping the city from summoning help until it's almost too late. The problem? Their leader. It would have been great to simply have an overwhelming stream of emotionless robots pouring through the streets, but they're all at the command of a bellowing four-armed juggernaut named Octobot who, for some reason, carries a whip, a sword, and a spiked mace in a world full of laser beams and artillery shells. I guess he's still a bit menacing as he bellows out "Death to the soft skins!" but he's more ridiculous than threatening.

But, hey, this is the era of such comics, where the robots bicker just as much as the humans, every sentence ended in an exclamation point, Solartech randomly flings out that he'd received Nobel Prizes back on Earth, and women named Raveena make our cybernetic heroes regret the loss of certain elements of humanity. I will say, though, that no matter how cheesy it gets, Margopoulos's writing is surprisingly rousing, a memorable sequence being Lasertech going all kamikaze on a chunk of the robot army, trying to take out as many as he can before they cut him down.

The art is still wonky and rushed at times, with moments best described as "scrawl", but there are some great panels in there of the larger forces, and a fantastic page of Solartech roaring with increased fury "Fire! Fire! FIRE!!!" as the forces he's leading blow the holy hell out of the robot army. Seriously, it's a surprising moment from a "Comics Code Approved" Archie title.

All in all, I like it. It's full of flaws and cheese, but pretty much admits so right from the front cover. As long as they make the cheese fun and engaging, I'm in.

For more information about this issue, check out its page at The Comic Book Database. Though out of print, copies aren't very difficult to find at various online comic retailers.

I'm not sure what to say here. It was a fantastic finale, everything I could have hoped for, but I don't want to give any descriptions for fear of spoiling the last leg of the ride. So humor me as I use this opportunity to reflect on the series as a whole.

It must have been difficult for this creative team, particularly in the wake of the disappointing KAZE NO YOJIMBO, to take another Kurosawa classic, a film held up around the world as one of the greatest ever made, and say they were going to redo it, with spaceships and robots and a comical little kid sidekick. I can image the scepticism, the challenge thrown up by a broad audience, and I can't say that, in their place, I wouldn't have folded and run away.

But, man, did they know what they were doing. Unlike the earlier anime, which pitched out it's source and started from scratch, this series has, at its heart, an extremely faithful adaptation of SEVEN SAMURAI, which not only captures the scenes and dialogue - almost word-for-word at times - but the deeper layers of complex characters and politics of a classist society that are tricky to pin down. And they didn't stop there, adding and expanding and even having the balls to make a few changes along the way, until they had something that bowed before Kurosawa while still standing firm on its own distinctive feet.

The samurai here are every bit as memorable as those of the original. Shimada Kambei, the leader, who outwardly portrays every shred of honor and intelligence a samurai can hope to achieve, though he's always been on the losing side of war. Shichiroji, his right hand man with an artificial right hand, who shed his sword to work in the inn of his love, but didn't flinch when his old friend called for help. Katayama Gorobei, who used his training to forge a new life as a street performer, using tricks and thrills to keep his warrior blood pumping as he throws himself in the path of danger. Hayashida Heihachi, the good-natured mechanic, experienced in war but not in death, who's easy smile disappears at any reminder of the treason he committed in the past. Kyuzo, the steely corporate assassin, so drawn by Kambei's skill that he'll fight by the older man's side just so he can have a chance to cut the other warrior down.

Katsushiro, the young novice, the heart of the group. Though just a part of the ensemble, this series has partially been about his journey of becoming a samurai. What you have to learn. What you have to give up. What you have to look straight into the face of without screaming. More-so than the others, the lengthened screen time has allowed his character to be explored far more thoroughly than Kurosawa ever could have hoped to achieve in the course of a single movie, and, thus, he probably stands out as the greatest, deepest achievement of the creative team.

And then there's Kikuchiyo, a boisterous thug born of peasants, who lost his family to bandit raids and enhanced his body with mechanics in the hope of one day being recognized as a samurai warrior. For the most part, he's been a useful brute weapon and comical clown on the side of the heroes, with little moments of insight where his bluster uncovers hidden truths, so I was thrilled to see him come face to face with Emperor Ukyo in this ep, revealing a theme I was just starting to pick up on. These two are mirrors, you see, both raised in farming villages only to grow into the very thing the other loathes: a pompous aristocrat and a mechanical warrior. I won't say how it ended, but it was yet another fantastic flourish by the creative team.

There were a few stumbles over the course of the series, a rare episode from a wonky guest-director, or a bit of this world which wasn't explained, but, for the most part, this creative team delivered all around. The direction was largely consistent and commendable, the writing intelligent and engaging, the performances fitting, the designs striking, and the score perfectly subdued.

And then, after straying so far from the source the last few episodes (albeit marvelously so), it all wraps up as we return to the final few minutes of Kurosawa's masterpiece. The words and shots are the almost identical, though the meanings now stand apart. Some are deeper, some are different, some loop back around to something familiar. And all of it is so very much in the spirit of Akira Kurosawa.

Last battle, indeed. Everything comes to a head as Ukyo's mechanical swarm cuts loose, the villagers open up with their stolen guns, and the samurai soar into the fray. I won't go into too much detail, except to say that I was surprised at how quick things went. That's not a complaint, not at all, because the way the samurai pull together a strategy on the fly is believable, as is Ukyo realizing that his army of lobotomized machines just doesn't quite cut it without the minds of former samurai driving their gigantic bodies.

It's all marvelously executed with each character getting their chance to shine. As you knew would happen, we do lose some heroes during this fray, but I won't spoil who or how, only to say one is heroic and brave, and the other is sudden and shocking, bringing the ongoing arc of his killer full circle.

Elsewhere, I haven't taken the time till now to mention Tessai, the steely-eyed bodyguard of Emperor Ukyo, largely because he's ridden along with the plot instead of driving it. Here, though, we see that all his little moments of tense cautioning and strategy are truly the signs of a significant warrior as he finally gets to cut loose against our heroes, all while still puffing away at his little Popeye pipe.

But then there's the guns. We know they are a part of this society but have largely only seen brief use of huge cannons that most mere mortals can't even lift. That concept fits nicely into a world where swordplay is still dominant, but things have changed. Now we see soldiers laden with small machine guns, with no explanation for where they suddenly came from or why they hadn't been used before. It's a confusing slip on the part of the creative team, especially since one is featured in a rather key dramatic moment.

But, while a head-scratcher, it isn't enough to kill the first half of what promises to be a fantastic finale.

On the flying citadel, Emperor Ukyo inspects his newly lobotomized mechanical bandits. They're wired to obey his every command, which he tests by having them goof off in battle.

In the village of Kanna, Katsushiro and the militarized farmers have built an impressive fortification of arms recovered from their previous battle with the bandits, and wonder if it will be enough.

In the desert wastes, the other five heroic samurai pass through villages where the people praise their benevolent new dictator, until coming across the remains of betrayed bandits that Ukyo himself blew out of the sky. Digging out one of those multi-storey, jet-propelled swords, they hotwire it as a speedy vehicle.

On a carriage circling around the pending battle, Rikichi, Sanae, and Kirara wait for the final outcome, while little Komachi tearfully wonders if the boisterous Kikuchiyo will fulfill his oath to to be her husband when she grows up.

And then the battle begins.

I've openly wondered in the past how it is that the samurai are able to enact the superhuman feats they do, soaring through the air and slicing down huge cyborgs or even entire starships. Though not explained, there's a scene here that suggests it's because the blades of their katanas act as a tuning fork of sorts, gathering and amplifying their energy once they've been properly trained. I really would like an explanation just to clear up the specifics, but they've been pretty consistent till now, and I love the moment where Katsushiro deflects a massive laser beam as a demonstration that he's finally become one with his blade.

We only get a hint of the battle to come, though, and I can't wait to see where things go from here. Ukyo knows he'll win. The samurai know they'll die. What could possibly go wrong?

This seems to be the last of the transitional episodes, finally locking all our characters in place for what will be one hell of a finale. Emperor Ukyo has the flying Capital aimed at the farming village of Kanna, wishing to celebrate its victory over the bandits by burning it to ashes, and our heroic samurai have realized that the merchants can no longer be in control and vow to take the Capital down. Things so easily could have been contrived here, but the twist of bringing the struggle right back to the film's core concept of defending a lone village from attackers is marvelously well played and feels like a true extension of the original story.

The thread of Rikichi and his estranged wife continues to play out nicely, with him trying to convince himself that her "betrayal" is due to the understandable lure of fine clothing and food, but it's Mizuki, a young hand-maiden who was also kidnapped by the empire, that sets him straight, going off on a gripping little speech about how the girls were merely being used as farms for the emperor's seed. Twisted food for thought, but presented without a flinch.

And then there's Katsushiro, who continues his growth by returning to Kanna and starting a single-handed line of defense (amazing action scene) against forces that are likely to quickly overwhelm him if the others don't get there soon. A little tidbit about his character, that I've noticed but have yet to comment on, is how, through his costume and demeanor, he seems to employ many elements of Kyuzo, the lone swordsman, from the original film, even more-so than that character's namesake here. I'm wondering if this was intentional on the part of the creative team, merging the fledgling student with the stoic master so as to explore the journey taken from one to the other. If it's intentional, then bravo to them.

One problem, if I may, comes just after Ukyo is confronted by dying bandits, huge mechanical monoliths that he just betrayed. It's a great scene, topped by a classic bit with the Capital's main cannon, but then comes the notion that they can strip the "souls" out of the remaining bandits and make them mindless robotic warriors fully under the Emperor's control. I don't like this. Not only is it a plot device frequently explored, but it will rob the bandits of their last remaining dregs of personality, and characters without personality is so very against what Kurosawa was about.

But I'll wait and see how that plays out. It's a fantastic episode filled with great little moments (a game of croquet, an assassin slowly rotating his mechanical hand as he speaks, Kikuchiyo and Komachi playfully bounding from side to side on a barge as our remaining heroes plot in the foreground), and there's a particularly striking bit in the first half. Just after our heroes agree to take down the Capital, they pause and we take in a shot of our supporting cast, seeing these familiar faces as if for the last time. It's a perfect, honest moment of soldiers setting off to a battle they may not win.

In a slight nod to Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, it seems Ukyo's strategy as the new emperor is to play both sides of the coin for his own mutual benefit. To the bandits he gives orders to raid the towns out of season, plucking up any stray bales of rice the farmers have hid away. To the farmers he sends militias of hired samurai to follow the growing legend of our heroes and cut the bandits down. Thus, he creates a conflict that weeds out potential rivals while the farmers just hand over the rice in gratitude. It's a nice, Kurosawa-esque way to carry on the plot, showing once again that Ukyo is not to be underestimated, and I especially like the added touch of the villagers seeing right through the plan, but going along because it's no worse for them than it's ever been in the past.

And another ploy is that he holds our lead Samurai and the village of Kanna up as heroic icons, while still quietly trying to wipe them off the map. After all, once peasants start fighting for themselves, who knows where they'll stop. It's when a group of assassins fall before our heroes that Kambei, Katsushiro, and Kikuchiyo finally hook up with Kyuzo again, with Shichiroji and Heihachi coming across them soon afterwards. Our remaining heroes are thus reunited, realizing that the job they signed up for is still escalating in ways that need to be dealt with. But, alas, there's still tension in the ranks.

Young Katsushiro is starting to see the chinks in Kambei's armor, certain restraints and hesitations that may be the key to the older samurai's frequent losses of the past. I was a little miffed at their division the last episode, but it's interesting how they're spinning it in a way that finally adds a few shades of grey to Kambei's character. As for Katsushiro, I'm impressed to see how much he's grown, but he breaks away from the team in what still looks to be the last dregs of youthful impulsiveness, so it'll be interesting to see where he goes from here. My only problem is that it looks like everybody else (sans Kikuchiyo) is taking Kambei's side, which feels a tad too uniform.

Otherwise, though, it's still pretty damn great, with some nice spurts of action, continued development of Ukyo's fascinating plot, Rikkichi finally confronting his estranged wife (which they've only just begun, so I'll detail it later), and even the portly Aymaro, former magistrate of the city and adoptive father to Ukyo, hanging around as an odd little tag-along for our team.

Picking up from the exciting cliffhanger of the last episode, Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo are racing through the flying Capital in search of both the kidnapped women and their leader Kambei, all while the wise samurai is picking his locks as an executioner's axe plunges towards his neck before a crowd of spectators. But there's a twist! Right as one would expect a huge action scene to break out and swords to flash in every direction, Ukyo, the new emperor, publicly pardons Kambei, orders the women to be freed, and opens his stores of stolen rice up for the populace to reclaim and enjoy. As I'm sure you can guess, his public facade of benevolence hides a scheming political mind, though I'm not quite sure what his endgame is as of yet.

With the women freed, Sanae, the stolen wife of farmer Rikichi, finds herself in an awkward position. She genuinely fell for the previous Emperor, her captor, and nearly bore him a child, so they go a long way here to establish the conflict and turmoil she'll likely experience when she faces down her estranged husband. Her fate was far from a happy one in the original film, so it'll be interesting to see if they mirror or depart from it here.

My main gripe this episode is aimed right at Kambei. Katsushiro's grown quite a bit over the series, and launched a raid that would likely have succeeded where Kambei appeared to be failing, but does he get any props for it? No! Kambei scowls a lot and shoots him down for no good reason. If there was some reckless impulsiveness there, I didn't see it, so what's the deal?

Aside from that, it's still a great episode as we see our group starting to pull back together, stray plot threads beginning to wind up, and there's that looming tease of the flying Capital making it's way towards Kanna village.

The old emperor is dead. His cloned offspring, the sadistic Ukyo, is guilty of the crime and now declares himself emperor. Long live the emperor.

In the beginning of the series, Ukyo started off as little more than a reckless playboy goof who snobbed his way around town in typical aristocratic fashion, so it's been fascinating to see the change he's taken to an astonishingly intelligent and shrewd politician, albeit with the same smirk and strut as always. I'm still trying to figure out if he has an endgame, but he seems to be of the belief that if the people are happy, he's happy, so it's just a question of how to do so in a way he can control. He's already off to an interesting start, telling the bandits to keep doing what they're doing, after having just ordered samurai to each village to follow our heroes' example.

But, alas, Ukyo's still got the head of Kambei, the former leader of our samurai, on the chopping block because he needs somebody to take the fall for the crime that lead him to the feet of his late "father" in the first place. But Kambei's already got his fingers on a handy little hair-pin ...

And coming from another direction is the unlikely duo of Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo. They make a fantastic pair, with Katsushiro shedding the youthful uncertainty of earlier and becoming the focused planner Kambei was teaching him to be, and Kikuchiyo still rumbling through situations in his boisterous, temperamental way.

Though mostly setup for what will likely be a fantastic final arc, this was yet another excellent episode as all new dynamics and ideas fall into place. Oh, and we finally learn what all that stolen rice was for, putting the final touches on the deep cycle this society has sunken into.